I have long been a fan of Gerry Bartlett’s work. I have never been disappointed in any of her works and this book only continues her run of books I absolutely loved. A continuation of her Lone Star Suspense series, this book can still be read as a stand-alone or out of order. Gerry doesn’t rely strictly on mystery to keep you reading late into the night. Her love for the state of Texas is clear on every page, even when her characters aren’t feeling the same way.

Thank you to NetGalley, Gerry Bartlett,and Kensington Books for giving me the chance to read this story and share my honest thoughts and opinions with others.

"Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review."

Loved this book very much. It had just enough sweet, sexy romance and the storyline was great! I highly recommend!

Scarlett Hall, a victim of kidnapping and assault, tries to heal her emotions and forget about the brutal man who carved his initials into her skin. Little does she know that he is still hiding out from the police just blocks from where she is. Ethan Calhoun is trying to open a downtown bar in Austin, Texas. He has some serious issues with his own mother and her friend escaping from a mental facility. Scarlett and Ethan meet and the sparks are instant. Danger, family issues and drama highlight this novel. There is room for some romance but the other story lines are more prominent. It was a little too violent for me but some will enjoy this fast-paced story.

Lone Star Suspense #2, It was nice to pick up on Scarlett's story, it's not imperative that you read the first book to be able to enjoy this one it explains enough of the first one you get all the pertinent information for this story's, mainly just Scarlett's, backstory but then again I've read the first one and really enjoyed it so I would recommend reading it anyways. Ethan's backstory seems pretty massive too and that's probably because he was a secondary character from Gerry's other Romantic Suspense series Texas Heat, which I have not read and still was able to keep up with his story. The other series spills off into this one in the form of Ethan's crazy mother. Similar to recent Catherine Coulter books Gerry has two storylines going in this book that have nothing to do with each other except to give some look as to the characters motivations and "Ah-ha" moment.

Scarlett's story, the main storyline. Scarlett is trying to get over her fear, after her kidnapping and torture at the hands of a madman she has become pretty paranoid. The first step is to remove any and all physical reminders of what he did to her ie. getting a tattoo to cover up the initials carved into her butt. Her progress takes a step backward when she learns the mad man, Leroy Simms, escaped police custody during transit. Scarlett initiates step two to take back her life she accepts a new challenging job, helping open Ethan Calhoun's new bar. Ethan's story which he tries to keep everyone out of is that his crazy momma escaped the looney bin with the help of another completely psychotic patient and now they are bullying him into giving them money and new passports. Ethan think he can get her back to the hospital before the police find her.

Scarlett and Ethan's relationship starts off as friends, the lust is there the attraction is apparent but as she works for him they get to know each other better before taking the next step. I enjoyed the romance side of this story and even though all the men are way overprotective of Scarlett all she wants to do is take charge of her life again even if it means facing Leroy Simms.

Overall, it was a good read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked Scarlett's brother and hope he gets a book in the future. The book was nicely paced and even with the two storylines I didn't have any issues following along it was pretty streamlined on the events.

5x2 stars .......absolutely loved it, .....I’ve read her whole Real Vampire series and loved it, this is my first time reading another genre of her writing and loved it, though I had no doubt I would because her writing keeps you captivated to the end........definitely going to read the rest of her Texas series

She followed a job and a friend to Texas which cost Scarlett hall more than she bargained for but she’s determined to get past one of the worst days of her life. Covering the physical scars is easy, but the emotional scars are proving harder to handle…until she meets Ethan Calhoun who just might be what she needs to start a new chapter in her life. It soon becomes clear that danger will be in her life no matter how many changes Scarlett makes and as she comes face to face with her worst nightmare.

This ‘Lone Star’ romance is an emotionally gripping, sweet and passionate romance with strong, convincing characters that readers can easily connect to and they can really understand what motivates them. The romance is sweet and the chemistry sizzles between Scarlett and Ethan with exuberant abandon. Scarlett’s past is a real hindrance to moving forward with her life which causes lots of emotional turmoil to flow from the pages and Ethan’s care and determination in romancing Scarlett warms the heart.

The plot is steady to fast paced and keeps readers on the edge with thrilling suspense as Scarlett’s nightmare reappears in her life, but this story has double the suspense because Ethan has quite a bit of excitement and danger going on his life as well as family comes calling. Readers can’t help but get caught up in this thrilling, suspenseful and passionate read.

This was an enjoyable read with intriguing well developed characters and a quick pace to the story. I did feel like I was missing details at times but I assume that was because I haven't read the first book in the series. Still I could follow the story easily enough. There is a nice heartwarming romance between Scarlett and Ethan. They are two people with issues they are dealing with but are looking for a fresh start. Problem is danger is lurking from Scarlett's past and these two could be over before anything can really begin.

Overall a good read and one I would recommend.

Scarlett was sick of feeling like a victim. She had plenty of time to heal her mind and body. Nothing to be afraid of here- no knife wielding psycho was going to jump out of a doorway and drag her into a van like…. Scarlett walked into the tattoo shop- Amuse tattoos and talked to Casey the woman she had already talked to on the phone. Scarlett had to get rid of the evidence of that hellacious day and move on. The psycho had carved his initials into her butt cheek. Bit when Casey went to start doing the tattoo Scarlett’s mind flashed back and she jumped off the table and pulled up her jeans and ran out of the shop. She went into an unlocked door with a closed sign on it. He wouldn’t find her there/ Than she heard a man’s voice behind her.and she said she was calling 911 and he said and tell them you broke into my bar? He said his name was ethan Calhoun and could he help her? Then she said but her a drink-Tequila.. Scarlett warned him she was a head case. He got her a glass and had a drink with her. Scarlett than said she had to go back next store -Ethan offered to hold her hand but Scarlett said it was something she had to do herself but asked if she could call him if she needed moral support. Than Ethan said yes and also tapped his phone and said he wanted her number. Ethan’s mother -Missy- had tried to kill his half sister cassidy that Ethan hadn’t known about until after his death. Cassady hadn’t pressed charges. His older sister Shannon had married one of the sharpest lawyers in Houston - Billy Pagan. Billy was already working on a way to keep Missy out of prison since she left the court ordered time at Fair haven for her “ mental health issues.” It had taken some work for Billy to get a plea deal to get her there and now she was on the loose. He was already working on a way to keep her out of prison whens she was caught. With her on the loose the prosecutor could forget the old plea deal if Missy pulled one of her stunts and put her behind bars. Ethan looked Scarlett up on line the psycho had made Scarlett his victim during an attempt at Industrial espionage. Ethan wondered what Zenon Industries where Scarlett was an Office Manager- owned that could be so valuable. Scarlett’s brother rhett who was an author ended up at her door from Boston wanting to know why she had not told her family what happened to her. He also said he knew enough about PTSD to know she was suffering from it. Rhett and Scarlett were both phobic about binding themselves to anyone for the .long haul. Scarlett got a call from Mike and Simms ahd escaped and left a cop in critical condition if he died Simms would be a cop killer. Mike thought he was far away by now but he was wrong. Scarlett called ethan and accepted the job to be hos bar manager after she told her biss ron she needed that leave of absence at Zenon Industries after all and why. After spending the morning going over plans with Ethan they went out to lunch nearby. Scarlett was attracted to ethan and she was pretty sure she was in trouble. The man was just about irresistible. Leroy Simms girlfriend was ramona and she had worked at Zenon Industries also. She was ron’s executive secretary and held it over people that worked there also. She actually had things criminally the way she wanted them until Scarlett came in and changed things and she hated her for it. She had also been in with Crane who had bought Leroy in to get the project from Anne. But crane was now dead. She helped leroy but she was the one who was computer savvy to get Crane’s millions of dollars hidden in a bank in Cayman. But leroy would kill her of he had to even though they had been together on and off since HS. She helped Leroy change his appearance so no one would easily recognize him.
I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the suspense, danger, and intrigue in this read. I also really liked the new romances that sprang up in the book. I loved the pace and plot. I loved that Mike, Rhett and Ethan wanted to keep Scarlett save no matter what. I felt bad that Ethan was pulled into the bs with Missy and Lisa. I loved Etham and Scarlett together and how they interacted. I loved how close Rhett and Scarlett were. There were a lot of errors were words ran together that interrupted your reading some. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend it.

Texas Trouble is a well written romantic suspense. It has wonderful characters and a suspenseful storyline. It pulls you in from the beginning and keeps you turning the pages until the end.There is danger and suspense connected to both of the main characters. Overall, it was a great read and I would recommend it.

The second book in the Lone Star series, Texas Trouble, tells the story of Ethan and Scarlett. My only hesitation with this book was the repetitive dialogue, in saying that over all it was a good follow up to Texas Lightning and I will look to read more

Texas Trouble by Gerry Bartlett
Lone Star #2

The story begins strongly with Scarlett Hall entering a tattoo parlor to cover a scar incurred while she was held as a hostage. She is suffering panic attacks and experiences one almost immediately and that is when she meets the man who will be her main squeeze in this book. From there the plot became a bit too much for me with both Ethan Calhoun and Scarlett dealing with huge issues that probably would have been better dealt with in two separate books. Ethan’s mother is on the lam from a mental institution with a sidekick and both of them are over-the-top unbelievable characters while Scarlett is soon dealing with the fact that t he creminal creep that scarred her has also escaped and might be out for revenge against her. Sure, there is romance of sorts and there is some time together for the main characters but this book really felt more like two or three stories in one with the main characters almost taking the back seat. That said, I did manage to finish the book by skimming quite a bit...and I see that I gave the previous book four stars so would give another book by this author a read in the future though this book did not rate as high for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington - Lyrical Liaison for the ARC – This is my honest review.

2-3 Stars

Texas Trouble is a little bit of a confusing book a the Lone Star series. First off I didn't read book 1 but the author does catch readers up though out the book about what happened in book one.

The story jumps between Scarlett and her drama and Ethan and his drama. They create a romance over their looks and than get to know each other. Texas trouble has two stories going on at the same time with unless characters and lack of back bone from Ethan. The suspense was odd at times and didn't make any since.

I would recommend reading book one as it should have reader understand what happened to Scarlett Hall at least I hope so.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Lyrical Liaison for the advance copy of Gerry Bartlett Texas Trouble.

Texas Trouble is the second book in Gerry Barlett’s Lone Star series and tells the story of Ethan and Scarlett. As primary characters, I enjoyed their interactions and their coping mechanisms for the danger and turmoil which surrounded them. What I found overdone, was the level of family drama and tendency for repetitive dialogue was distracting. Over, this is a good story with a likable couple, but it could have been better.

Ugh. This book took me forever to finish and honestly, I found various parts of it a bit ridiculous.

The Good, The Bad, and Everything Else: The chemistry between Scarlett and Ethan was off the charts and their work time together was a nice way to develop the characters and their connection more. Even though Ethan's character sometimes felt too young. There were quite a few "baby brother" comments that just didn't bode well for Ethan's potential Book Boyfriend Roll.

I did feel that I was thrown into an already existing storyline as this book recaps Scarlett's PTSD from an event that happened, I'm assuming, in the first book of the series. I know reading series books out of order can be tricky and normally I would not do this but when I got the opportunity to review a Gerry Bartlett book I was excited. I've been hearing about this author for years and never read one of her books before. Unfortunately reading book 2 before reading the first book was probably not the best idea as this book definitely had a part 2 feel to it. As if this were a continuation of book 1 rather than it's own entity. Everything from the original terror Scarlett had when she was kidnapped in the last book to Scarlett and her brother Rhett's names. Why were they named after Gone With the Wind characters? I have no idea.

The suspense aspect was lacking as well. There was a convoluted feel to the suspense part because there ended up being 2 different sets of "bad guys" with 2 sets of motives/plot lines running simultaneously. None of the baddies really caused me to be on the edge of my seat with worry either. Leroy Simms, who is a cop killing psycho, kept having tender thoughts about his woman running amok in the "I'm going to torture and kill Scarlett" plot thread. I just couldn't find anyone to root for in the book. Yes I root for bad guys just as often as I root for the good ones.

In addition, there was a whole lot of He-man chest beating in the form of "I carry a gun. I just wish I Leroy Simms would make an appearance 'round here. I could use the target practice." type crap. Ugh!!!

In a Nutshell: Overall a rather disappointing romance which makes me a sad panda. I really wanted to like this book. I will give Gerry Bartlett another try but will definitely go with one of the Real Vampire ones and steer clear of these Rom/Susp books. They just aren't for me.

Blah, book two in a series.

DNF 30% I just could not get around feeling like I was missing something, this feeling repetition was frustrating me. i think this could have been great, but for me not at all. i think the author has great writing skills, but for me this didn't do a thing for me to want to finish it.

My first book by Gerry Bartlett. I liked this story and thought Scarlett and Ethan were super cute. The drama was a little OTT but not enough to distract me. I didn't realize this was part of a series so I may go back to read the first.

Scarlett goes to Texas for a job and is attacked. The attacker escapes from jail and she’s afraid he’ll come after her. Ethan grew up with money and after his father died, he moved to Austin to open a bar. He meets Scarlett when she goes to get a tattoo and freaks out. She runs into his bar to pull herself together and meets Ethan. Ethan hires her as his manager and they begin to fix the bar up. Ethan has his own problems with his mother. As they get closer to finding Scarlett’s attacker, he is right down the road from her and takes her as a hostage. Can they save her before she’s killed?
Great story with action and suspense. A little sexy. Sometimes Scarlett’s dialogue was rushed or just not believable. But I would still recommend it.
* Voluntarily read and reviewed this for NetGalley *

I liked the romantic couple in “Texas Trouble”, although I felt I was missing some background from the previous book on the series. Scarlett and Ethan are both relatable characters and I enjoyed their banter and sexy and sweet relationship.
There’s a lot of family drama, with a soap opera touch, that really isn’t my cup of tea. I enjoyed getting the villains’ points of view and thought the author, Gerri Bartlett, created two interesting, demented characters with a convincing human profile.
Overall, I found this book a little tiring and relying too much on dialogue in character and plot development. The result is a lot a repetition, the same information being delivered by various characters and lots of mundane details. The familiarity between cops and civilians was a bit far-fetched and some actions too stupid to be taken by either of them. Some coincidences felt contrived too.

This should be the last in this series, the last Calhoun that had not had his own love story, Ethan. Ethan is starting over in a new town and a new job or owner of a bar when he meets Scarlett. Scarlett is also starting over after having been traumatized by a kidnapper, now she has a chance to start living her life and Ethan has caught her interest. Unfortunately for Scarlett her kidnapper is lose and set out to get revenge and finish what he started. Ethan is also captivated by Scarlett but his psycho mother is on the lose and Ethan is aiding and abetting her. Scarlett and Ethan fall in love and then chaos ensues..Wish we had seen the past couples more.Goodbye Calhouns and Texas.